Archived News:

Thursday, Dec 13, 2012

The note that accompanied the alleged Mass Effect 4 details reported yesterday saying "this posting has inaccuracies in it" is apparently the only accurate part of the story, as Blend Games has a statement from EA saying "At no time did EA or BioWare provide any answers to questions from Gamer Syndrome." As odd as it seems, the story was apparently made up out of whole cloth, as according to EA the interview was "completely fabricated."

Steam News announces a free weekend is underway for Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad, celebrating the recent release of the free Fall 2012 content pack for the World War II shooter sequel. The weekend runs until 4:00 pm EST and the game is on sale for 75% off until Monday at 1:00 pm EST. The announcement we received about this also mentions double XP, but that's not mentioned elsewhere in the announcement, nor is it mentioned on Steam, so we can't say whether an XP bonus is in play or not.

Slitherine and Buzz Aldrin Enterprises (nope, we didn't know such an outfit existed either) announce a collaboration on an upcoming strategy game based on space exploration. The game is in development at Polar Motion for release sometime next year, and as for the cantankerous astronaut's role in the production, word is the deal grants the developers direct access to Buzz on critical aspects of the game design. "I’m very happy to be working with Slitherine on this project," says Aldrin. "Not only will it focus on the space missions I was privileged to take part in, but it will also include my Aldrin Cycler concept which incorporates my vision of how we should get to Mars."

Nadeo announces beta 2 of ShootMania Storm will begin on December 19th, offering those who have preordered the first-person shooter another chance to play before its release next month. They celebrate the news with some new screenshots and a new trailer showing off gameplay. Continue here to read the full story.

Gearbox Software Support has details on a new patch for Borderlands 2 that was released today to update Gearbox's RPG/first-person shooter to version 1.3.0 (thanks nin). Also, Polygon has word that the next DLC for the game will be called Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt after trophies revealing this turned up in the PS3 edition of the patch. In one more related note, Claptrap Web Series Season 2, Ep. 2 is now online. Here's what's new in the new version of the game:

Fixed the "use" description text on the HUD getting cut off prematurely when binding "use" to certain keys.
Fixed a bug that could cause the critical hit bonus to inconsistently be included on the item card of weapons that modify this stat like Miss Moxxi's Bad Touch.

Fixed a bug causing decals to not be displayed when the framerate was set to 30FPS Capped.

Fixed a bug causing head customizations from the Mr. Torgue DLC to not unlock properly for Sirens and Mechromancers.

Fixed a bug where profiles would refuse to save when they were already corrupted on startup.

Steam News announces the launch of a beta game guides feature for games on the service. This includes the ability to upload screenshots and videos. This sub-forum covers discussion of this new feature.

A new trailer is now available for Dead Space 3, showing off the "two ways to play" the upcoming shooter sequel. Word is: "In Dead Space 3, there's two ways to play. Go it alone as engineer Isaac Clarke, or team up with the dementia battling John Carver. See how the story changes as you play the two modes. Drop in, drop out online co-op makes it easy play your way." Continue here to read the full story.

Bohemia Interactive announces a delay to the release of Arma 3, saying the military shooter sequel is now expected sometime in 2013 (the game was announced for release this past summer). The announcement refers to this as "an eventful year," noting the arrest of two of their developers for espionage, though this is not directly blamed for the setback. Here's word:

In what might be described as an eventful year, Bohemia Interactive has decided to postpone the release of Arma 3. The additional development time enables the project to reach its full potential, with the studio expecting to finalize their release plans in the new year.

Recently, Joris-Jan van ‘t Land, a 10-year veteran of Bohemia Interactive, took over the role of Arma 3 Project Lead from Daniel Musil, who left the studio to pursue other opportunities.

Joris-Jan van ‘t Land: "We’ve been in the process of implementing changes that will help us innovate as a studio under unexpected circumstances - facing problems we simply couldn't have imagined”, referring to the detainment of two Bohemia Interactive employees in Greece. Both were arrested on suspicion of espionage while spending their holiday on Lemnos - an island that served as inspiration for the environment in Arma 3. They have since remained in jail pending legal proceedings. "We're still trying to make sense of the situation and hope that our colleagues will be released soon. Although their plight has certainly affected us on a personal level, we continue working on the tasks identified as key to the release of Arma 3."

The new release window of Arma 3 has been set for 2013. Joris-Jan van 't Land: "I hope this update provides some answers regarding the status of the project. We’re currently sorting the specifics so we can deliver a more complete announcement at the beginning of next year."

The studio is also working on a standalone version of DayZ, which is developed by a team led by Dean Hall.

GSC Game World, the Snake Plissken of game developers, claims to still own the rights to the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. franchise, in spite of the claim that bitComposer Entertainment has picked the IP based on the Russian sci-fi property. Gamasutra has posted the following email about this from GSC sales and marketing rep Eugene Kuchma:

"In view of the rumors appearing in press, we find it necessary to inform that GSC Game World and Sergey Grigorovich [GSC CEO] remain to be the sole owners of all the intellectual property rights to the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game series and the brand overall, including all the trademarks, the game universe, the technology etc. This can be easily verified with the trademark services online.

"From time to time news on the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. brand purchase by this or that company appear over the Internet. We relate such a keen interest in the brand to its exceptional popularity. Even the purchase of rights to create a "Roadside picnic" book-based game by a small publisher is presented as the continuation of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. franchise. We have doubts regarding the mentioned product by BitComposer (the publisher of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat in some territories), since the latter has significant debts in terms of fulfilling the obligations under the existing contract between our companies.]

It's official, mech pilots! December 12 has arrived and the HAWKEN Open Beta is live! Thanks to our hardworking teams, and to the helpful feedback from our Alpha and Closed Beta testers, HAWKEN looks and plays great. We couldn't be more proud, and this is only the beginning.

A new trailer from the Kickstarter Page for Elite: Dangerous offers a further look at gameplay footage from the upcoming space combat revival that Frontier Developments is seeking to fund. Word is: "Work-in-progress footage of live multiplayer gameplay in Elite: Dangerous showing a convoy escort battle, and discussion of the various roles players can take." Thanks nin via Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Continue here to read the full story.

Tripwire Interactive has launched another free Twisted Christmas promotion, the third annual holiday celebration in Killing Floor, their zombie-infested co-op shooter. This page has all the details on the event, which involves new weapons and low gravity as you take on the menace of zombies in space. Here's word:

This Christmas Tripwire Interactive has a whole new twist on killing the undead playable right now: Zeds in Space! Horzine's Moonbase is the setting for the new map, on the dark side of the moon. One small step for Zed? Actually, giant leaps for Zedkind, up there in low gravity. You'll believe Zeds can fly - and they certainly will when you smack them with the new Dwarfs!? Axe. If they are jumping around too much for your tastes, hit them with the stasis field on the Zed Eradication Device, which can be found scattered in pieces around the new Moonbase map. Or just zap them. There is a brand new weapon for the Medics amongst you, too - the Schneidzekk Medic Gun, with a nice high rate of fire AND healing darts. New achievements too, naturally.

All your old favorites are back for Twisted Christmas III as well: all the Christmas specimens are back, along with another opportunity to unlock Baddest Santa, for those of you who haven't had the chance.

The Powered by GameSpy Facebook Page has a response from new GameSpy tech owner Glu to the recent closure of multiplayer servers using GameSpy middleware due to non-payment of bills. The company defends itself against claims these shutdowns came with no warning, noting that it is incumbent on their client companies to warn players of server shutdowns. Glu also stands accused of raising rates, and to that they say: "A number of our publisher partners elected to allow their contracts for GameSpy Technologies’ services to lapse by not continuing to pay for these services. In some cases this lapsing ranges back as much as four years. GameSpy Technologies has continued to provide months, and in some cases years, of service support for free. However we cannot be expected to provide a service free of charge to publishers who choose not to renew their service agreements and in some cases remain delinquent in delivering payment for past services." A forum poster on Kotaku notes the GameSpy Technology Pricing Page actually states that free hosting is provided for games with fewer that 1000 monthly players, though it's not clear how that might apply in the cases the recently closed servers. Thanks nin.

An interview on AusGamers talks with Ken Levine about BioShock Infinite, Irrational Game's upcoming first-person shooter sequel. The conversation is presented in video form, but they have also gone to the effort of transcribing it for your reading pleasure. Ken discusses content cut from the game, his crush on Elizabeth, the size of the new game compared to the original BioShock, multiplayer, and more.

The Evochron Mercenary Website now offers a new version 2.088 of this freeform space simulation from indie developer StarWraith 3D Games. Their screenshots page the latest images from the game, and this FAQ has all the details on the latest version, which is considered an expansion, as reflected by the 2.x version numbering. As always, an updated version of the playable trial also accompanies the new release. Word is: "It's recommended that you read that information page for details on upgrading from older versions of the game, a summary of what's new, and recommendations on using some of the new available options. "

Here are last week's football results: Jivaro is in playoff form winning again at 12-4, Verno and Cutter were 11-5, Batman and I were 10-6, mag was 9-7, Rigs missed a game and was 9-6, and Creston was 7-8. Boldness points to Creston for picking a 0-0 tie in the Jets game (and not being too far off). I'd be prouder of being the only one of us outside of Minnesota to pick the Vikings if I did better over all: Batman was the other who picked the Vikes, which would have been enough to edge me if he wasn't the only one on our panel of "experts" to pick the Saints. Games no one called: Steelers and Falcons losing.